Ironbark Zinc (IBG)

Slumping zinc prices have weighed on
Ironbark Zinc
shares in the past three months, but the stock has rebounded slightly off its recent low. Of some help was a report on Wednesday that the grade of the underground resource at the company’s Citronen zinc and lead project in Greenland had risen by 23 per cent. The improvement in grade should have a positive effect on operating costs at Citronen, which is one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc deposits. Citronen’s strategic importance is underlined by the presence of commodities trader Glencore International and Nyrstar, the world’s largest zinc smelter, on the Ironbark register. Glencore owns 12 per cent of Ironbark, but that would rise to about 35 per cent if it exercises the $50 million in convertible notes it provided the company in October. Nyrstar, which has been seeking to source more feed for its smelters from its own mines, holds 28.5 per cent of Ironbark.